Wedbush Morgan's esteemed industry analyst Michael Pachter has long predicted that Nintendo would release a Wii HD. These prognostications have popped up more frequently as Nintendo's competitor's both introduced motion controls at the E3 convention earlier this summer and have even appeared with a timeline now, with Pachter portending it's arrival by Fall 2010.  Pachter argues that as households increasingly adopt HDTVs, more consumers will appreciate the HD offerings of the XBox and PlayStation 3, leading Nintendo's market share leadership to slip away.

In a lot of respects, Pachter is spot on.  With HDTVs predicted to become a majority in 2010 in the US and 2012 in Europe, prospective buyers will become more aware  of HD content and the Wii will begin to look even more dated.  Consumers will still want their innovative motion control gameplay but they'll want it in something that can show off the muscle in their new home theater set ups.  And at that point, consumers will turn to Michael Pachter's fabled Wii HD.  Luckily for them, the Wii HD will become reality in 2010, but it won't be Nintendo delivering the product to these end users.  Rather, it will be Sony and their PlayStation 3.

Sony's motion controller, dubbed the 'motion wands' by enthusiasts, was first shown at E3 2009, though numerous patents filed by Sony hinted at its existence prior to the event.  Sony's motion wand consists of a handheld controller with face buttons and analog triggers and a glowing LED orb at the end of it.  Using the PlayStation Eye to track it's movement, Sony's Wand is designed with enough simplicity that it offers minimal input lag but is advanced enough to offer full 1:1 motion tracking.  The PS3 can track up to four motion wands at once, and offers enhanced features if using two wands at once or a wand and DualShock 3 controller. 

Initial reactions of industry professionals to the PS3's motion wand were mixed, especially in comparison to Microsoft's more progressive Project Natal, which doesn't involve a controller at all.  What the PS3's solution lacks in innovation, though, it makes up for with familiarity - Sony's motion wand is designed very similarly to Nintendo's Wiimote.  This helps Sony push the device to software developers who are already accustomed to Nintendo's controller, and ultimately helps sell the controller to consumers looking for an HD version of the Wii. 

Speaking on the PS3 motion wands, Jun Takeuchi, producer of Capcom's Lost Planet and Resident Evil 5, said "[Capcom has] a lot of good ideas on how to make use of that technology".  This is in stark contrast to their thoughts on Natal, which he perceives as a "new problem", leaving developers scratching their heads, thinking "How are we going to develop games for this? What are we supposed to do with this now?".

Other Japanese developers are looking forward to the door that Sony's motion wands open for Wii-to-PS3 ports.  Marvelous Entertainment, publisher of popular Wii titles such as No More Heroes and Muramasa, spoke in depth about porting their games to the PS3 in their latest financial report.  Even more recently, the Marvelous president has gone as far as to call the PS3 'an explosive trigger' that could revitalize the Japanese gaming industry, saying he'd love to start producing more PS3

The recent Tokyo Game Show proved just how far Sony's motion wands have come, displaying full motion enhanced games, not just mere proofs of concept.  Capcom has already displayed both Wii/PS3 and new control PS3 projects, announcing a motion controlled version of Resident Evil 5 and Sengoku Basara 3, a Wii/PS3 beat 'em up title.  Sony also showed further support for their controllers with a motion control enhanced LittleBigPlanet and a dozen or so other titles that will support the motion wands at launch.

Sony's motion wands are set to launch next spring with a full catalog of games announced to support it.  By the time the end of the year rolls around, the library will be fleshed out even further.  Consumers looking to play motion control games in HD will find that the PS3 provides a familiar experience around the board.  With Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition, it has an answer to the popular Wii version of Resident Evil 4.  LittleBigPlanet provides a similar experience to the co-op of Super Mario Galaxy.  Those looking for party games need look no further than Motion Party, and the list continues.  Pachter's Wii HD is a reality, and it's called the PlayStation 3.

http://www.ps3center.net/article/288/1/pachters-wii-hd-is-a-reality-its-the-ps3/

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do you AGREE with this BOLD article?

I disagree.....in theory it may be, but it doesn't have the "Wii" brand name on it!

This all the way!

I don't get this wand thing. How does it work exactly? It just seems to me to be the equivalent of just the Wiimote, which just doesn't cut it for a large majority of the games that are on the PS3. Am I missing something here?

copy cat.......but I guess great minds think alike right!

So there is no equivalent to the nunchuck to go along with this? This seems to be a pretty poor attempt then to get any games to adopt this. How would you move? How many buttons do you even have access to on this thing?

Ok don't scream when you hear this

You hold the Dualshock 3 in one hand & the wand in the other

{runs}

No, this is just a news person or more likely an intern trying to make a story sound good. unfortunately it does not. But this gen has all been about the Wii vs the HD consoles and this is sad. Next this guy will write the same article and instead of the PS3 wand it will be Natal.

Gaming Journalism used to be good but now it's worthless.

Obviously Sony is brilliant and knew that they were going to make the Wii HD before Nintendo had the chance to. Also it should be obvious that I'm being facetitious.

Exacly what you told me mate.

well i've presumed that each wand has a analogue and is the equivelant of half a dual shock. You would then use two wands which would allow you to both move and turn without having to worry about pointing any specific place on the screen.. however, i'm no longer so sure if that's what they're gonna do. That would be the optimal solution though.